


Shots

by crowe (thordasgay)



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, I would say slow burn but I'm a pisces, look I have to crank out the canon stuff before I get to the post-canon stuff, read for original characterization and a night to remeber
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-09 16:24:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11672769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thordasgay/pseuds/crowe
Summary: Who is Maureen Ryder?That’s a question Maureen found herself asking more often than not, especially in the light of recent events. Growing up, Maureen knew that her mother and father loved her, and that her twin brother, Anatol would take a bullet or fifteen for her. But who was she?There was one thing for certain: she became the Pathfinder by accident and she was living with that mistake. She thinks the last thing she needs is Reyes Vidal and his love for hair gel and any drink he can get his hands on, to distract her. But it's actually the first thing she needs.That, and for SAM to unlearn sarcasm.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was tired of the same damn sis!Ryder/Reyes stories so I made my own.
> 
> We're churning through the canon to get to the post-canon. It's really so y'all can form a connection to Maureen and see how her mind works. 
> 
> I wrote different dialogue because it worked better.
> 
> Yes I know I use a lot of line breaks. No, I don't care. I write how I speak.

Who is Maureen Ryder?

 

That’s a question Maureen found herself asking more often than not, especially in the light of recent events. Growing up, Maureen knew that her mother and father loved her, and that her twin brother, Anatol would take a bullet or fifteen for her. But who was she? What was her purpose? Her mother was a brilliant scientist, studying the effects of Element Zero and developing the usage of biotics in humans. Her father, an N7, well respected and powerful. Anatol was a combat professional, stationed within the alliance military.  
But Maureen?

 

Maureen knew how to fight, but not as well as Ana or her father. She helped to protect scientists researching Prothean artifacts, which really didn’t require much on her part. Still, she thought she found purpose there. She watched the scientists discover new technology and she was more than happy to let them test the latest in their tech upgrades on her. She even snuck a couple basic ones to her brother. It made her feel needed, at least for the time being.

 

However, when her father’s taboo AI research was released, her life was thrown into chaos. Both Anatol and her lost their places within the alliance military and all of that temporary purpose was stripped from her being. Well, that’s what it was. Temporary. That’s why it was so easy for her to leave the Milky Way on the Andromeda Initiative. That, and her mother’s death.

 

And now, Maureen was forced upon a new role: the human Pathfinder. This wasn’t a role she ever wanted, seeing the stress that her father underwent, it was never something that appealed to her. And, she was never supposed to get the role. It was to go to Cora. And then, whoever she chose and so on and so forth. Not to her.  
But, her father chose her. Not her brother, he was in a coma. Not Cora. Her. Strictly by chance and location proximity.

 

A new purpose.

 

But Maureen still felt lost.

 

As much as she tried, she never felt like she was living up to the ridiculously high expectations that were put upon her. She knew Cora frowned at her relaxed demeanor and Addison’s eyes were on her every second, noting every small detail that didn’t perform exactly to her high standards.

 

Maureen sat on the edge of her bed in the Tempest and stared at the passing stars. She ran her hand through her hair, bleached white strands falling over her eyes. She found herself breathing in time with calming music playing in the background, a futile attempt at refocusing her. Kallo was taking the team to their next mission, the exile-run planet, Kadara.  
Expectations were out the door on this one. All she knew was Sloane Kelly, a former Nexus security officer, was leading the Nexus exiles and that was trouble. To keep her head down, Maureen was supposed to meet with “Shena”, an Angaran contact that could tell her about the Turian who was helping the Archon.  
Maureen never wanted any of this, but it was too late to turn back now.

 

“Pathfinder, Kallo has informed me that we will be arriving in Kadara in fifteen minutes,” SAM’s voice floated in her head. Maureen snapped out of her daze and slowly stood up, feeling every part of her body reawaken and tense. She let out a large breath.

 

“Do we know what it’s like down there?” She finally asked SAM.

 

“Hot, pathfinder.”

 

She smirked at the AI’s response. She appreciated the humor that SAM tried to bring, something he had adapted after observing Maureen’s tendency to defuse tense situations with her own dry wit. SAM was a worthy challenger to her humor-laden throne and they were a force to be reckoned with.

“Well,” Maureen cracked her neck and walked towards the door. “Let’s bring a fan.”

 

* * *

 

 

A moment of bitter realization struck Maureen as she stepped off the Tempest and was hit with a wave of heavy heat and the smell of sulfur stung her nose. SAM wasn’t lying, which she should have known because she was pretty sure the AI was physically incapable of lying, due to his programming.

 

“Maureen-”

 

“Just Ryder, Jaal.”

 

“Right. Ryder. I must tell you something,” Jaal urged from behind her and she turned her head to face him. The Angaran wore a scowl upon his face.

 

“Yes, Jaal?”

 

He paused before taking a deep breath in.

 

“I absolutely despise it here.” He proclaimed and Maureen let out a loud laugh. Jaal was Angaran, the Angara being one of the new species they had encountered in Andromeda, with Maureen leading the relations between them and the Milky Way species. Will all of the surmounting pressure of reality weighing her down, she was glad the she found a fast friend in Jaal.

 

“Jaal, we have been here a total of 2 minutes. How can you already know?”

 

He let out another uneasy sigh and chose his words carefully. “Angaran physiology is very… susceptible to the heat. Plus, it is disgusting.” He shuddered. Maureen pursed her lips bemusedly.

 

“Well, I’ll be meeting this Shena by myself in Kralla’s Song, so you can stay in the Tempest on standby with Liam. Vetra and Drax will be… in proximity to retaliate if things go south,” Maureen concluded. Jaal nodded both professionally and appreciatively.

 

As she made her way to their meeting location, Maureen couldn’t help but let her mind wander. Was was the motive behind meeting in a bar? Sure, it would be helpful because there would be witnesses if anything went haywire, but who would be listening in? Either way, she hoped this wasn’t a dead end. They are neck and neck with the Archon in the race for Andromeda and this could be the leg up the need to get ahead.

 

Maureen followed the loud music through the Port’s Marketplace and to a two level bar. She walked up where an Asari was snapping at a Krogan. Maureen admired this bartender for her galls to challenge a Krogan. She knew her customer base well, it would seem. She leaned against the bar and hummed to herself. The Asari made eye contact with her and quickly turned around to purposefully avoid her. A smile formed on her face.

 

“You look like you’re waiting for someone,” A well-rehearsed line broke interrupted Maureen’s review of the mission parameters in her mind. She liked to be semi well-prepared, she thought. She craned her neck to see a human man saunter over to her. Her body clenched up as he placed himself right next to her. His hair was black, slicked back and his skin was brown from the sun. This man knew how to fit himself into places he knew he shouldn’t be, as he easily landed in the space beside Maureen.

 

The Asari quickly payed attention to him as he motioned for two drinks and offered one to her. Maureen knew that she was on the job and was supposed to remain professional, but Alec Ryder didn’t raise her to turn down a free drink. She took it and raised it towards him appreciatively, he responded wordlessly, their conversation quiet and unspoken. Maureen liked that.

 

“Shena,” The man finally spoke up, after quickly downing his drink in the same time it took Maureen to take a sip. “But you can call me Reyes. Code names are more of a formality,” She raised her eyebrows.

 

“I was expecting someone more… Angaran,” she sipped her drink tentatively. It was strong but cheap, she could tell by the painful burn in her throat and the fire in her stomach. He smirked.

 

“The Resistance pays me to supply information. Among… other things.”

 

“You’re a smuggler?” He responded with a sly smirk. They both satin silence for another second.

 

“Ryder,” She finally replied. Reyes paused, sipping his drink that the bartender refilled a moment ago.

 

“Ryder? Just Ryder? Are you sure?”

 

“Or Pathfinder Ryder, but I find that a little too formal when I’m not in uniform,” She quipped. That was true, though. Maureen was wearing a white leather jacket and dark red accents. She had originally received that jacket in standard issue Initiative blue, but Maureen had a salarian back on the citadel rip it out and sew in a deep red fabric instead. Blue washed her out. Maureen also didn’t enjoy telling people her first name, let alone exile smugglers she just met. A long story short, Maureen is the name of a 83 year old grandma from Kansas, not a scientist and Pathfinder.

 

There was silence for the first few seconds. Maureen could read his face that he was thinking carefully.

 

“So…. no first name then?” Reyes smirked and Maureen wrinkled her nose. He wasn’t going to drop it. He knew it annoyed her, she had shown her hand too soon. Anatol would be buckled over in laughter for how distracted she was. She inhaled.

 

“Unless you are my squad member or family, no. Even then, they just call me Ryder.” Unless they were angry.

 

“Well, give me some time and I can be either one of those,” And like a moth to a flame, Reyes Vidal had revealed his hand as well: a hopeless flirt. Maureen rolled her eyes. At least now she knew what to look out for with this “Reyes” character. Sure, she was annoyed, but there was a part of her brain that liked the guy, he reminded her of herself. Reyes was formal yet informal, an open book yet a labyrinth waiting to be solved. Maureen didn’t like how contradictory he was.  
Reyes laughed in the silence and a tightening in her chest caused Maureen to snap back to reality. She had seemed to drift off into a more cavalier space and she remembered she had an end-goal she needed to meet. She didn’t need this man and his affinity for hair gel to distract her.

 

“Reyes. What can you tell me about the turian? Vehn-” He held up his hand to stop Maureen and she stopped angrily. She really didn’t like people cutting her off. He motioned for her to follow him over to a railing overlooking Kadara. She did. Angrily.

 

“Vehn Tarev is the man you’re looking for, correct?” He said hushed. Maureen nodded. “He was arrested by Sloane, the proclaimed Ruler of Kadara,” He smiled as if Maureen was supposed to pick up on an inside joke. She didn’t. “The people are calling for his execution, due to his involvement in the capture of the Moshae, and well Sloane,” He chuckled, “She is a woman of the people”. Maureen watched the wonderment and respect play on Reyes’ face and how it lit up in his hazel eyes. Maureen shuddered. Most people don’t even notice people’s eye color. Why was she?

 

“I like her already,”

 

“Well she doesn’t like you.”

 

Reyes left with a wink that was still burned in the back of Maureen’s mind, playing like a film on loop. He knew how to play a crowd. No matter how obnoxious, she had to give him that.


	2. Chapter 2

Vehn Terev was dead, but Maureen got her intel. She figured it was better to let Sloane feel like she had the upper hand than stir the pot with some complex plan. Evfra wouldn’t like that she was the one to execute him, but that’s a problem for another day. She walked into the dark interior of Kralla’s song, illuminated by neon lights and bass pulsating through the air. She was motioned to a back room on the upper level of the bar, far away from the mess on the main floor. 

She needed to speak to Reyes to see what he knew about the murdered Angaran in Kadara Port and if he has any intel on this “Charlatan” character. She had only known the man for a few hours but Maureen figured if there was anyone that knew Kadara’s dirty secrets, it was Reyes Vidal. 

The door open and she stepped into a quieter room with her new contact Reyes sitting on the couch expectantly.

“Hope you got what you needed from Vehn Tarev before he lost his head.” Reyes leaned back as soon as Maureen walked up to him. Vetra and Drack were on either side of her. With a Krogan and a kick-ass Turian with a souped up assault rifle to back her up, Maureen was surprised at Reyes’ relaxed demeanor. In fact, she kind of welcomed it. Maureen has never been a fan of someone who takes themselves too seriously. Sloane, being the first person that came to Maureen’s mind. She grimaced.

“Do I detect a hint of surprise in your voice? Or is that… admiration?” 

“Both. I’m surprised anyone could reason with the ‘Queen of Kadara’,” Reyes smiled openly. He was impressed with her. Maureen enjoyed it.

“Well, I’m just that good,” 

“Apparently.” His eyes met hers and they held each other’s gaze in a moment before Vetra cleared her throat. Maureen felt her chest tighten.

“The murders,” Maureen coughed out. She cleared her throat and Reyes had already stood up. “I’m hearing rumors of it being the Charlatan’s handiwork.”

“No. The Charlatan is discreet. Careful. Whoever is doing this,” He inhaled sharply. “They want the bodies found.” 

Maureen found herself impressed by the man’s ability to quickly shift back into a professional and serious demeanor. He easily slid into a role of smuggler and information supplier. She wished she could do the same, or at least, not stare deeply into an attractive person’s eyes while on the job. Sheesh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Length consistencies are for the weak.
> 
> AKA
> 
> I put a lot of thought into how many line breaks there are.

A party is the last thing Maureen expected to be invited to on Kadara Port. She was Initiative, so that didn’t swing a lot of favor and good fortune from the locals. But, of course it was Reyes who actually invited her, so all of that really didn’t matter. As long as she had that one man on her side, she felt like she could achieve anything.

As a Pathfinder. 

In Kadara. Vaults. Outposts.

Nothing romantic.

Definitely nothing romantic.

Maureen shook her head. Reyes said that he would meet her outside Slone’s throne room. That’s right, it’s Sloane’s party. She would have definitely prefered literally any other person to host this party, but at least Slone and her, well they were cordial. Or so she hoped. 

Reyes was nowhere to be found. It seems that he has a habit of doing that, with the whole Roekaar business. A very threatening man waited outside of the two large doors. He was large and looming. Obviously Sloane beefed up with extra security tonight. She could hear the music and chatter inside. She swallowed, pushing down a lump of anxiety that threatened to force it’s way up. 

“Name’s Ryder. Human Pathfinder. I’m kind of a big deal,” The man stared at her and Maureen prayed to anyone that he wouldn’t see through her bravado. 

“There’s no Ryder on the list,” The man responded, his deep voice matching the frequency of the pulsating bass that threatened to tear down the walls. Maureen sighed. Time for Plan B:

Leave. 

She turned around on her heels and as soon as she took a step to abscond, Reyes was behind her. He looked at her and winked, then walked up to the bouncer fearlessly.

“She’s with me. Reyes Vidal.” 

Pure confidence radiated throughout Reyes. All of her life, Maureen never thought she would meet someone that could challenge her dry humor masquerading for a backbone with someone who actually has one. 

Or maybe Reyes was the same way. 

She liked that theory. It made her feel more comfortable.

“Is this a habit you have?” She turned to him and he looked at her confused.

“What?”

“Showing up at the very last second, looking like some grand savior?” Maureen huffed as the bouncer opened the doors. Reyes just laughed. 

“I guess so.”

\--

It didn’t really register with Maureen that Reyes Vidal had left her alone until she was half way through a conversation with Keema Dohrgun, Reyes’ ...friend. 

Maureen was disappointed to find herself wanting to spend more and more time with Reyes, even after the whole debacle with Zia. Reyes treated Maureen like a real human, not just the Pathfinder or some kid who got the role out of sheer luck and coincidence. He was someone that could easily take what Maureen dished out and could serve it back as well, and still be professional. They worked well together.

“SAM, where’s Reyes,” Maureen spoke after excusing herself from Keema’s attention. 

“I believe he headed into one of the side rooms when we arrived, Pathfinder.” A groan escaped from Maureen as she walked towards the set of double doors where the pair entered. It was surprisingly barren, the guard must be on break. She turned to the left, into an open storage room. Reyes was crouched down beside a large metal crate, inspecting it closely, and mumbling to himself.

“I like Keema,” Maureen spoke into the silence, leaning against the doorframe. “She’s nice. Kept introducing me to everyone. I guess I serve as a good distraction,” She smirked. Maureen was proud of herself for catching Reyes. She was starting to pick up on his patterns, his game. Reyes stood up quickly, shocked and startled.

“Ryder! I promise it isn’t what it looks like,”

“Oh? So you didn’t use me as a distraction to go through Sloane’s stuff?” Maureen stood up straight and walked towards him. 

Reyes paused, and then inhaled.

“Okay, yes. But it’s for both our benefit, I promise-” The sound of shoes hitting the metal floor cut off Reyes from his impassioned plea and were drawing closer. 

“Shit, someone is coming,”  
Cold fear ran through Maureen, as well as the couple of drinks Umi served her. For once, Reyes seemed caught off guard, a fish out of water. “We need a distraction,” He was looking around desperately. 

Maureen sucked in a large gulp of air to steady herself before saying, “sorry.”

“What- OOF,” 

Maureen punched him in the stomach, hard. Reyes let out a couple of choked coughs and bent over. A guard, different from the one that had let them in, appeared in the doorway. Maureen motioned to a doubled over Reyes.

“Friend had too much too drink. You know,” The woman stared at her questionably. “Sloane. You know. Goes preeeeettttty hard. He couldn’t keep up,” The guard continued to glance at them before dropping any inquiries that she might have been pondering for two bottles on a crate over to the right. As soon as she left, Maureen turned to face Reyes, who was just coming to.

“And here I was beginning to think you liked me,” Reyes coughed out, clutching his stomach. On one hand. Maureen felt pretty bad, but on the other: she was starting to like him. And that scared her. So, it was pretty cathartic. 

“You wouldn’t be so lucky,” And it was then she noticed how close they were together. Reyes must have taken a couple of steps closer to her when she was talking to the guard. He was a few inches away from her, his eyes locked onto hers. They were so hazel. They were like rivulets of honey and olive that flowed into each other. She swallowed hard. Reyes suddenly looked behind her and gasped.

“Finally!” Maureen stepped to the side as he climbed up onto a crate to reach a silver metallic bottle sitting on a high up shelf. He turned around to face her, pure joy radiating through his entire being. “The only bottle of Mount Milgrom in Andromeda. Triple distilled and 645 years old.”

Maureen blinked.

“Whiskey? All of this was for… whiskey?” 

“This isn’t just whiskey, Ryder. It’s treasure.” Reyes cradled the bottle in his hands as delicately as someone would hold their newborn child, and stared at it with the same awe.

“I admire your priorities,” 

Reyes grabbed her hand and met her eyes once more.

“Let’s get out of here,” He led her out of the storage room and Maureen couldn’t help but follow.

\--

The Kadaran sunset cast a golden light that highlighted Reyes’ brown skin. The spice of the whiskey bloomed in her mouth as she took another sip of the rare whiskey. The bottle was about half way finished, their own rebellion against Sloane, of a sorts. Who knew what she was saving it for, and when she went looking for it, it would be gone. Maureen hated to, but she smiled at the thought. 

They were both sitting in silence, only the faint murmurs of the Port citizens wandering up to their tucked away shipping crate, would remind the both of them of where they were. She placed the bottle in between them.

“Sorry again, about the whole… stomach thing,” Maureen coughed. Reyes waved it off.  
“I would have done the same,”

“You would not. Not with how scared you looked when the guard was coming,” Maureen laughed loudly. 

“Oh, I definitely would have. In fact, I was a fraction of a second away-”

“Oh really?”

“Really.”

They were both laughing now. Maureen knew that there were plenty of ways to cause a distraction but damn, she would be lying if she said punching Reyes didn’t feel good. Her head was swimming but not in the way it would back on the Citadel, with the late nights and cheap wine. It felt like she had another galaxy inside of her, waiting to be explored.

“So… how did you get your scar?” Reyes broke her thoughts and looked at her.

“My wha- ...oh,” She paused. Maureen’s hand flew up to touch just under her right eye, feeling the soft, puffy scar tissue that encircled it. 

“Isn’t that something you ask on the second date?”

Reyes laughed softly and looked away from her. He tentatively touched the bottle to his lips but stopped.

“I guess so,” He said and took another sip. Maureen swallowed.

“Tech misfire,” She finally said. He glanced at her.

“I was working with some experimental tech that would later be the flamethrower. Dr Monell was 2 degrees off with the calibration and-” Maureen made a whooshing noise and leaned back. “Kinda… leaked? If that makes sense?” 

“That sounds like a good time,” Reyes nodded.

“Yeah. Hurt like hell, but I got a cool scar and a sweet arm flamethrower so, it worked out in the end.”

“I admire your optimism.”

“Yeah, and now everyone can tell Anatole and me apart,” She joked. Everyone was well aware that Anatole and her looked nothing alike.

Maureen turned away in the break in conversation to face the landscape before the pair. Her eyes landed on a cyan-colored sulfur pool who’s steam glittered in the setting sun. She watched it’s gentle back-and-forth motion, her dangling feet moving in motion.

She heard Reyes speak beside her, in a more careful tone, “Is Andromeda everything you hoped it would be, Ryder?”

Now that was the question of the year. 

Maureen took her time to ponder the question. She did come here with a purpose, but that’s changed. 

“Well, I came here to help being research with new cultures, not become the Pathfinder.,” She rattled off, “My father is dead and my twin brother is in a coma. There’s an all-knowing AI in my head and I made first contact with a brand new species. So, no.” Maureen looked down at her hands and then back at Reyes, who was watching the landscape with determination. She noticed how every strand of hair was illuminated and the little beads of sweat that dotted his hairline. 

“I knew things wouldn’t be easy, but this is more than I signed up for.”

A somber feeling permeated the air, as well as the subtle hints of humidity and coolness that nightfall brings. But what Maureen felt surprised her. Maureen felt… relief. There was something comforting, welcoming, talking to Reyes. With any other person, Maureen would clam up, have some witty retort ready in her arsenal. But with Reyes, she was open. And Maureen felt the dangers in complacency too.

“Why did you come to Andromeda, Reyes?” She finally asked.

Suddenly, Reyes shifted uncomfortably where he was sitting. He avoided Maureen’s face and turned away, sighing. She could read on his face what he was thinking through a lot of thoughts, a lot of baggage he wasn’t ready to display. 

“Sometimes, I’m not sure. I feel like I’m still it finding out.” 

The long pause Reyes took indicated to Maureen that it was an open-and-shut deal. He was done. Maureen felt a little hurt that he wouldn’t provide the same detailed, but she knew that was out of selfish curiosity. Suddenly, she heard a quick inhale.

“My life on earth was… a lot” He began but stopped. Maureen waited patiently, not wanting to push him. “I was a pilot, and I loved it, but…” Reyes exhaled sharply. “It was the same thing, the same pattern and routine and I guess came here... “ Reyes took a long sip of whiskey, longer than either of them had. 

“To be someone.” 

He finished his sentence and the whiskey. Maureen looked at him long and hard as he actively avoided her eyes, unlike himself. There was an element of melancholy that enveloped his face Maureen felt her hands tense up and her chest tighten. She had just met this man but a week ago but, despite her best efforts, she enjoyed his company, enjoyed him. Everything the Initiative told her, he should be violent and repulsive, but he wasn’t. Reyes was the first person that Maureen felt she could be genuine with, who understood her. Her chest filled with the humid Kadaran air.  
“You’re someone to me,” Maureen spoke into the silence, despite her best efforts. Her eyes still locked onto Reyes as her turned his head back towards her, a subtle look of shock uncharacteristically coloring his face. 

And then, suddenly noticing his hands on top of hers, she leaned in, and kissed him.

And the six seconds they kissed felt like six years. There was a gentleness between the two, their emotional vulnerability hanging in the air like a flag on a ship at sea. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned in further. His lips were soft and careful. His face so close to hers, she could feel the small puffs of hot air he breathed out. The spice of the whiskey melded together and her head swam with too many emotions. She was weightless.

Maureen pulled away and they both stared at each other. The sun was set and Reyes smiled.

“I would have preferred that to a punch in the gut,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my favorite to write because I got to make edits to the canon to fit what Maureen would actually act like in this moment. It was like a very fun but stressful puzzle.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment to give me validation.


End file.
